Cooled and lubricated rotary seal



F. E. PAYNE COOLED AND LUBRICATED ROTARY SEAL Nov. 21, 195.0 2,531,079

Filed Feb. 18, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1950 F. E. PAYNE 2,531,079

COOLED AND LUBRICATED ROTARY SEAL Filed Feb. 18, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E TOR.

I V MM i {M Patented Nov. 21, 1950 COOLED AND LUBRICATED ROTARY SEAL Frank E. Payne, Glencoe, 111., assignor to Crane Packing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 18, 1948, Serial No. 9,084

6 Claims.

This invention relates to rotary seals of the mechanical type and particularly to seals for installations wherein the seal is cooled and lubricated in order to secure long uninterrupted service.

In equipment of the above type requiring the use of a seal, it is customary to provide a stuifing box of considerable length which extends into the housing of the equipment. Where the equipment is used to handle a volatile fluid such as propane, packing may not be sufllciently tight to do an efficient sealing job. The more emcient simple mechanical seals, however, cannot properly seal the fluid because of the heat developed between the relatively rotating sealing surfaces of the mechanical seal and because of the lack of lubrication, both of which result in rapid wear of the sealin surfaces.

It has been found to be desirable to cool and lubricate any mechanical seal used in pumps for volatile fluids such as propane, but up to the present time it has not been feasible to provide both lubrication and cooling without the use of a complicated and expensive structure.

The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a mechanical seal for a pump or the like wherein means are provided for cooling the seal and also lubricating the running faces thereof, said seal being simple in construction and also conserving space.

Another object of this invention is to provide a seal for a pump or the like wherein a greater portion of the seal may be located outside the housing of the pump so as to be more readily cooled and lubricated. 1

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a lubricated and cooled seal which maybe applied to a pump designed to use ordinary packing, the seal being so designed that it can be removed and replaced with packing.

These and other objects of this invention will ing II will not score the shaft become apparent from the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a quarter-section view of aseal embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the inlet and outlet passages'for the coolant used in the seal; and

Fig. 3 is a quarter-section view of a modification of the seal of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings for-a detailed description of the invention and particularly to Fig. 1, the pump shaft is shown at In passing through an opening il in a housing l2. Opening II is partially closed by a sleeve 13- which is threaded on shaft Ill so as to be rotatable therewith and also to have a fluid-tight connection with the shaft. Sleeve I3 is commonly used so that any packing which may be placed in openbut will nevertheless be sealed with respect to the shaft. It is contemplated that this invention can be adapted for use with sleeve l3 so that should arise requiring the removal of a seal, packing may be inserted into the opening H and the apparatus run temporarily without any great danger of leakage and without any substantial loss of time.

Surrounding sleeve i3 is a rigid collar M which has an internal groove I machined or otherwise formed therein. An endless ring iii of resilient deformable material such as rubber or the like, either. natural or synthetic or a combination of the two, is compressed in recess l5 so as to form a fluid-tight seal between collar I4 and sleeve l3. lllecess i5 is of greater axial dimension than ring 6 a limited extent and thereby prevent sticking of the ring either in the recess l5 or on sleeve I 3. Collar 14 has a threaded opening I! in which is disposed a setscrew I8, the bottom of which projects into a blind hole l9 formed in sleeve I3. The diameter of hole I9 is greater than the diameter of setscrew I8 so that a limited amount of universal movement is permitted collar 14 on sleeve l3, but collar I4 is, nevertheless, constrained to rotate with sleeve l3 at all times. Setscrew l8 thus serves to remove substantially all of the torque load from ring IS. The radial surfaces of collar it are notched at and 2| to receive inserts 22 and 23, respectively, of a material different from the material ofcollar i4, said inserts being particularly adapted to withstand the conditions imposed thereon by the apparatus on which the seal is used. Thus, inserts 22 and 23 may be rings of Stellite which is a hard material capable of taking a high polish and resisting wear. The outer surfaces 24 and 25 of inserts 22 and 23, respectively, are disposed in radial planes and'are accordingly ground and lapped so as to be perfectly flat and smooth.

A sealing washer 26 is disposed in a recess 29 in a closure-plate 30 which is bolted or otherwise secured to housing i2. Said washer 26 is formed with an axially extending rib or head 21 having a radially disposed surface 28, which is ground and lapped so as to be perfectly flat and smooth. Said closure-plate has an axial flange 3| extending into opening H and has a smaller recess 32 if an emergency so that said ring It can rock in recess l5 to similar passage (not shown) located substantially 188 away from passage 35 may be used as an outlet for the cooling water. Any suitable fittings may be used to conduct the water to and from closure-plate 38. The water is confined to the exterior of washer 26 by a ring 31 of resilient deformable material compressed between washer 26 and the recess 29, washer 26 being provided with a groove 38 to retain ring 31. The cooling' fluid is confined on the opposite side of groove 34 by means of a similar endless ring 39 compressed between recess 29 and washer 26 and disposed in a groove 48 in said washer. Rings 31 and 39 are preferably made of rubber, either natural or synthetic or a combination of the two, and are formed with a circular radial crosssection so as to be capable of rocking slightly when washer 26 moves axially relative to plate 38 under the action of spring 33. Such rings are commonly known as rings and are available in different rubber stocks to handle various fluids.

Collar l4 and the projecting portion of washer 26 are enclosed by a small housing 4| which is bolted to closure-plate 38 with a gasket therebetween so as to render the connection fluidtight. Housing 4| extends axially beyond collar l4 so as to provide a space for a seal designated generally by the reference character 42. This seal is of the type disclosed and claimed in a copending application of Charles F. Voytech, Serial No. 715,973, filed December 13, 1946. It is understood, however, that other seals of the mechanical rotary type may be used, although the type shown is preferred because of its short axial dimension. Briefly, the seal 42 is comprised of a washer 43 having a radially disposed surface 41 in contact with surface 25 on insert 23, surface 41 being suitably ground and lapped so as to be perfectly fiat to form with surface 25 a fluid-tight running fit. Washer 43 is sealed with respect to housing 4| by means of an endless ring 44 similar to rings 31 and 33 which is disposed in a recess 45 in washer 43 and compressed between said washer 43 and the interior wall of housing 4|. A plurality of springs 46 in compression between a driving shell 48 and a confining washer 49 serve to maintain washer 43 in continuous contact with insert 23. Shell 48 has lugs which extend into openings 52 in housing 4| so as to prevent shell 48 from turning relative to the housing. It is apparent thus far that a fluid-tight seal is effected between collar l and housing 4| so that a chamber 58 is formed around collar M and washers 26 and 43.

In order to lubricate the running faces of washers 26, 43 and collar l4, chamber 58 is filled with a lubricant through an opening 5| which is threaded to receive a fitting such as a grease cup or the like. If desired, other openings may be provided in housing 4| to permit the lubricant to be circulated in chamber 58, but such circulation ordinarily would not be required since washer 26 will be cooled by the coolant in groove 34 and 4 any heat generated by the cooperating surfaces will be dissipated in the coolant.

To assemble the seal a closure-plate 38 is slipped over a sleeve I3 against housing l2 and a spring 33 is inserted into recess 32. Rings 31 and 33 are placed into grooves 38 and 48 and the washer is pressed into recess 23. Next, a ring I6 is inserted into the groove l5 of a collar l4 andjhe collar is slipped over sleeve l3 and pushed against washer 26 until setscrew I8 is aligned with hole I9, whereupon setscrew I8 is advanced into hole l9 to hold collar H on the sleeve. It is understood that the free height of spring 33 is greater than the axial dimension of the spring shown in Fig. 1 and that during the assembly of the collar on the sleeve, spring 33 will be compressed to its working height.

After collar- I4 is in place on sleeve l3, 0. seal 42 is pressed into a housing 4| to the position shown in Fig. 1 and the shell is then slipped over the seal against plate 38, a suitable gasket having been previously placed between the housing and plate. The housing is then drawn up tight against the plate and the latter is secured to the housing l2, any well-known means being usable for this purpose. Connections are then made with passage 35 to the source of coolant to be used, and chamber 58 is filled with a lubricant. The seal is then ready for use.

In the event the seal must be removed and the equipment operated while the seal is repaired or serviced, a stufling box gland may be bolted to housing |2 in place of plate 38 and the space H packed with suitable packing, with a gland nut to compress the packing in the space.

The location of collar |4 outside the space H and the cooling of washer 26 results in a more efiicient cooling of the seal since most of it is out of contact with the hot fluid being sealed. The lubricant in chamber 58 also acts as an oil quench in the event the volatile fluid should escape and attempt to flash.

The modification shown in Fig. 3 differs from that of Fig. 1 mainly in the means for securing the rotating collar to the shaft. The collar is shown at 53 and is made narrower than collar |4. Sleeve .54 is threaded on shaft l8 and is formed with a shoulder 55 against which collar 53 abuts. A second sleeve 56 is threaded on the end of sleeve 54 and clamps collar 53 tightly against shoulder 55 so that collar 53 is constrained to rotate with sleeve 54. A fluid-tight seal is effected between collar 53 and sleeve 54 by means of an endless ring of packing 5'| preferably made of rubber or the like, which is compressed in a groove 58 in collar 53 and against the outer surface of sleeve 54. It will be observed that this construction is inherently balanced and yet rigidly locates collar 53 on sleeve 54 and provides a reliable drive for the said collar.

The cooled washer of Fig. 3 is modified so that packing ring 53 is of a larger diameter than packing ring 68. This obviates the necessity of having ring 68 under compression when it is pushed over opening 6| which tends to injure the surface of the ring, and also permits the formation of washer 62 in such a manner that a passage 63 for coolant can be located close to the sealing surface 64 where it can be more efiective. The cooled washer per se is claimed in a co-pending application of Vance E. Vorhees, Serial No. 9,267 filed February 18, 1948.

It is understood that the foregoing description is illustrative of preferred embodiments of this invention and that the scope of the invention is not to be limited thereto, but is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A sealing device for effecting a seal between a shaft and a housing therefor, said device comprising a removable sleeve fixed to said shaft, a collar encircling the sleeve and having radially disposed sealing surfaces on each side, means for preventing relative rotation between the collar and shaft, resilient deformable sealing means effecting a seal between the collar and sleeve, a sealing washer on one side of the collar and having a sealing surface abutting on the adjacent sealing surface of said collar, means for effecting a seal between the washer and housing, means for cooling the washer, a second sealing washer, said second sealing washer contacting the other sealing surface on the collar, means on the housing enclosing the collar and sealing washers, resilient deformable means for effecting a seal between the second sealing washer and the enclosing means, and lubricant in the enclosing means in contact with the ring and sealing washers.

2. A seal device for effecting a seal between a shaft and a housing therefor, said housing including a closure-plate having an axial extension and having passages for conducting a coolant toward the shaft, and including also a cupshaped extension adapted to be secured to the plate with a fluid-tight fit, said seal comprising a washer concentrically disposed with respect to the shaft and movable axially with respect to the plate, said washer having a pair of external grooves, sealing means in the grooves for effecting a seal between the washer and closure-plate, a third groove located between the pair of grooves, said passages in the plate being in communication with the third groove and with the exterior of the plate, a collar surrounding the shaft and sealed with respect thereto, said collar having a surface in contact with the washer and forming therewith a fluid-tight seal and means for effecting a seal between the collar and said cup-shaped extension, said extension being filled with lubricant.

3. A seal device as described in claim 2, a setscrew on said collar, a sleeve passing through the collar and having an opening into which the setscrew projects, whereby to hold said collar against axial movement when subjected to fluid pressure.

4. A seal device as described in claim 2, said axial extension on the closure-plate having a recess and a spring compressed in said recess by the washer and tending to hold the washer in sealing engagement with the collar.

5. A sealing device for effecting a seal between a shaft and a housing therefor, said device comprising a sleeve threaded on said shaft and having an abutment, a collar encircling the sleeve and having radially disposed sealing surfaces on each side, means for clamping the collar against the abutment to cause the collar to rotate with the shaft, resilient deformable sealing means effecting a fluid-tight seal between the collar and sleeve, a sealing washer on one side of the collar and having a sealing surface abutting on the adjacent sealing surface of said collar, means for effecting a seal between the washer and housing, means for cooling the washer, a second sealing washer, said second sealing washer contacting the other sealing surface on the collar, means on the housing enclosing the collar and sealing washers, resilient deformable means for effecting a seal between the second sealing washer and the enclosing means, and lubricant in the enclosing means in contact with the ring and sealing Washers.

6. A sealing device as described in claim 5, the means for clamping the collar against the abutment comprising additional threads on the sleeve, a second sleeve having threads cooperating with the additional threads to advance the second sleeve toward the collar, and an abutment on the second sleeve adapted to engage the collar and urge said collar against the abutment on the first-mentioned sleeve.

FRANK E. PAYNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,294,620 Clarke Feb. 18, 1919 1,560,669 Dennedy Nov. 10, 1925 2,265,953 Mortensen et a1 Dec. 9, 1941 2,281,157 Kanuch et al Apr. 28, 1942 2,306,417 ,Wiessner Dec. 29, 1942 

